What are the features of Free for Commercial Use Font License (FCFL)?
FCFL is expressed in both English and Chinese, and both English and Chinese statements have the same legal effect, which simplifies the complexity of legal interpretation for Chinese users; the license clarifies and provide complete legal protection to the copyright, patent and trademark authorization for existing; the license follows the principle of concise expression, eliminate redundancy while concise clauses, easy to understand and use.
FCFL also have a special feature: if the font author allows others to make and distruibe a modified version of original font, FCFL will automatically be terminated and converted to SIL Open Font License (SIL OFL). This will a. prevent collision with this license (Section 3 Paragraph 3); b. contribute to open source community to further develop the font.
What are the difference of Free for Commercial Use Font License (FCFL) with other licenses?
| FCFL | SIL OFL | CC BY-ND 4.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free for personal/commercial use? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webfont use? | ✓ (If webfont formats are not included, you can create them on your own.) |
✓ (If webfont formats are not included, you can create them on your own.) |
✓ (If webfont formats are not included, you can create them on your own.) |
| Embed in app/software? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Embed in PDF/e-book? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trademark registration? | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Redistribute (original font)? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Modify font? | ✗ Only when written permission from original font author to convert the original font license to SIL OFL. |
✓ You can modify font software freely with a copy of full text. |
✗ You cannot distribute any modified derivatives. |
| Changing License | ✗ Only when written permission from original font author to convert the original font license to SIL OFL. |
✗ You cannot change or extend the original license. All derivative work must be covered by the same license as the original. |
✗ You cannot change or extend the original license. |
| Hold liable? | ✗ The software is offered as-is and the license owner cannot be charged for damages. |
✗ The software is offered as-is and the license owner cannot be charged for damages. |
✗ The software is offered as-is and the license owner cannot be charged for damages. |
What are the commercial use range of Free for Commercial Use Font License (FCFL)?
A. Commercial media uses
All type of commercial release including: brochures and manuals, posters (roll-up banners, background boards, promotional leaflets, etc.), print advertisements (newspaper and magazine advertisements, etc.), outdoor advertisements (car body, column and platform advertisements, etc.) ), film and television advertisements (TVC, promotional films, video clips, etc.), online advertisements (non-corporate official websites), multimedia applications (mobile advertisements, e-books, magazines, etc.), product packaging, texts used in film and television works (TV series, movies, special programs, etc.), texts used in rolling film and television programs, corporate official websites, online store prices, visual identity (VI) standard designs, corporate manuals, guide system applications, corporate names, trademarks or other signs, logos, corporate websites, blogging and other Internet self-media and other forms of applications and projects, with no limit to number of design drafts, geography, print volume and number of times of release.
B. Embedding systems
Common software products and embedded systems involving information processing include: operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, etc.), software with word processing functions (Office, computer-aided design (CAD) software, Office Auto, etc.), printer output equipment, mobile phone, e-book, electronic dictionary, set top box, navigator (GPS), digital TV system, car multimedia entertainment system, medical system, industrial control system, etc.
How long is the licensing period of Free for Commercial Use Font License (FCFL)?
Fonts that are licensed under FCFL are free to use forever as FCFL license is (conditionally) permanent. If the author retracts FCFL from their fonts, fonts that are already distributed or in use are not affected and can be free to use continuously; please ensure that the license attached to the font is FCFL when you are downloading a font.
The only official scenario that the FCFL license of older versions of fonts are retracted is the case where the original author permits other to make and distribute a modified font and automatically changing the license to SIL OFL. This will not affect the free-to-use rights of the font. (SIL OFL is also a free for commercial use and also open source license.)
Can I obtain a written authorization from the author?
FCFL represents the official written authorization of the font. Any person or corporate can freely use a font by obtaining its FCFL statement, which represents the author permission for commercial application without any fees.
I want to use Free for Commercial Use Font License (FCFL) as the license of my font, how should I proceed?
If you want to use Free for Commercial Use Font License, Version 1.0 to release free for personal/commercial use fonts, please complete the following 3 steps:
- Please fill in the copyright information in license including date, copyright holder(s), licensed font name, and URL/email;
- Please attach a copy of this license along your font when distributing the font;
- (Optional; plese see Section 3, Paragraph 2 of license) Please add the following statement into the license information in your font:
This Font Software is licensed under the Free for Commercial Use Font License, Version 1.0. This Font Software is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the Free for Commercial Use Font License for the specific language, permissions and limitations governing your use of this Font Software.